Ear Infections

Health/ Nutrition

Your doctor checks your child's ears for signs of infection or fluid behind the eardrum. Ear infections are common in young children. Not all children complain of earaches. Untreated ear infections cause problems with speech and hearing. Your doctor checks to make sure a "silent" ear infection is not missed.

If you have any concerns about your child's hearing, be sure to bring them up with your doctor. Children with normal hearing at birth can develop hearing problems because of ear infections or exposure to very loud noises. Parents are frequently the first to notice a hearing problem.

Don't be concerned about earwax and don't use a cotton swab to clean your child's ears because the ear canal is easily injured. If the doctor can't see the eardrum because of ear wax, he or she will take care of the problem very carefully.